The annual exercise brings together military forces, academia, and technology companies from across the globe to test, develop, and integrate unmanned systems into real-world maritime operations. The exercise is designed to drive multi-domain interoperability among allied maritime unmanned systems under realistic operational conditions.

Over the course of the exercise, OPT vessels supported five mission sets: rapid environmental assessment; mine countermeasures; harbor security; surveillance and reconnaissance; and above-water warfare.

The WAM-V 8 conducted rapid environmental assessment, delivering bathymetric survey data in amphibious surf zones in support of landing and raiding forces, and was beach-launched ahead of amphibious operations. The WAM-V 16 supported mine countermeasures tasking in the beach and harbor approaches for harbor security. The WAM-V 22 operated in above-water warfare, including surface target identification under operational tasking, and conducted intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

OPT vessels integrated with US command and control during the exercise and were the only US unmanned surface vessels to do so. A WAM-V 22 was also employed to train US Navy and Marine Corps personnel in basic autonomous operations.

“The test of an unmanned system isn’t whether it performs at a demonstration. It’s whether an operational commander will task it alongside everything else he’s responsible for,” said Jason Weed, Chief Operating Officer of OPT. “At REPMUS, our vessels weren’t on display; they were given work. Three different classes, five different missions, inside someone else’s operational picture. That’s the capability our customers are actually buying.”